Michigan State assistant Mark Montgomery leaving for Detroit Mercy job
Michigan State assistant coach Mark Montgomery will leave the Spartan program to become the next head coach at Detroit Mercy, the university announced Wednesday.
Montgomery, 54, spent 12 total seasons at Michigan State. He enjoyed two separate stints as a Michigan State assistant, the most recent of which began in 2021. He initially rejoined Tom Izzo’s staff as a recruiting coordinator, but was quickly elevated to assistant coach.
Prior to his return to East Lansing, Montgomery spent the second half of the 2021 season as an assistant to former Detroit Mercy head coach Mike Davis.
Now, Montgomery will take over for Davis as the program’s head coach. It will mark Montgomery’s second stint as a head coach during his 27-year coaching career. He will take over a Detroit Mercy program that finished 1-31 (1-19) last season.
“I’m thrilled for Monty and very excited for the opportunity he has as the head coach at University of Detroit Mercy,” Izzo said in a Detroit Mercy press release. “Monty returned to Michigan State three years ago and has been an important part of my staff and our recruiting. He is one of the best and brightest coaches I’ve worked with during my career.
“Monty has a great understanding of the game, he’s called our offensive sets and is an incredibly hard worker who is very organized and knows how to run a program. Monty played at Michigan State and has spent a good part of his career with our program and while I’m sad to see him leave, I’m happy for him, his wife Alex and their family. I think this is a great opportunity for Monty to run the program in Detroit and look forward to seeing the success he has there.”
Montgomery earned his first head coaching job at Northern Illinois. He spent 10 seasons (2011-21) with the Huskies. Under Montgomery’s watch, Northern Illinois enjoyed three 17-plus win seasons. The Huskies won 21 games in 2015-16, the second-most in program history.
Montgomery led Northern Illinois to the Vegas 16 quarterfinals in 2016, which marked the program’s first postseason appearance since 1996. Montgomery also coached Northern Illinois to a share of the MAC West Division championship in 2020.
Northern Illinois fired Montgomery after a 1-7 start to the 2020-21 season. He finished with a career record of 124-170.
Prior to Northern Illinois, Montgomery spent nine seasons (2002-11) as an assistant at Michigan State. In his 12 total seasons at Michigan State, Montgomery helped the Spartans to a national championship appearance, three Final Fours and two Big Ten championships.
Montgomery played four years (1988-92) under Jud Heathcote at Michigan State. He was a team captain and member of the 1990 Big Ten championship team. Montgomery earned Third Team All-Big Ten honors as a senior.
Upon his graduation from Michigan State, Montgomery held the record for most games played in a Spartan uniform, with 126. He ranks seventh all-time with 561 career assists and fourth all-time with 168 career steals.
Izzo will now look to fill the vacancy left by Montgomery. Assistant coaches Doug Wojcik and Thomas Kelley, as well as director of recruiting operations Jon Borovich, are all still on staff.
